The Forbidden House
by BMOLove
Summary: Sandra is a first year, and it seems like everything is going right for her. But when the Sorting Hat says something strange, this new Gryffindor must uncover the truth, both about herself, and also the past. This is my first Harry Potter fic, so please don't kill me. Set a couple hundred years after Harry Potter's time.


** Hello! This is my first time writing Harry Potter fan fiction. Let's hope for the best. I may do questions of the day if this picks up. **

** And guys, there's a reason Slytherin isn't mentioned. All will be revealed in time.**

** Here we go!**

** Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, because if I did I would be rich.**

* * *

Sandra couldn't sleep. Honestly, who could? With her father snoring on her left, and her brother snoring on her right, it was usually difficult to get some rest, but the fact that she was going to Hogwarts for the first time ever tomorrow was keeping her up more than ever. She felt like her pillow was made out of bees, making her mind buzz.

Which of the three houses would she be sorted into? Ravenclaw? Hufflepuff? Gryffindor? Gryffindor was probably where she was headed. Both her father and her brother had been in that house, and she'd always believed that was where she would be sorted.

Sandra wasn't sure that was where she should go. But the other two houses didn't seem any better for her, and Hogwarts was supposed to be a great experience in any case, so it really didn't matter much.

She rolled over; her father's snoring becoming louder.

Sandra lived in a little house, a shack really, on Solus Island, a wizarding island off the coast of England. It was not on any Muggle map (of course), but it had a fairly large population and had one of the largest Floo powder imports of any magical community because that was the main mode of transportation for the island.

Sandra lived with Father and her older brother, Jonas, who was going into year 5, in a little four-roomed beach shack near the ocean. Her mother had died when Sandra was a baby, but since Sandra had never really known her mother, when she missed her, it was in a detached sort of way. Sandra's small family all got along very well together, even though they weren't exactly living comfortably (both physically and economically).

Sometimes it was difficult to be the only female in a family of men, especially because they all had to share one bedroom, with her father and her in one bed and her brother in the other, but also because she was beginning to go through puberty. Still, Sandra managed.

She closed her eyes and let out a little sigh and hum combined. Her eyes were now tired enough for her to sleep.

* * *

In the morning there was the expected hustle and bustle of two children leaving the house for a long time.

"Do you have your robes?"

"Check."

"Wands?"

"Check."

"Jonas, are you bringing your shell collection?"

"Of course."

"Sandra, your books?"

"Got them."

This went on for about fifteen minutes, until each child had a suitcase in one hand and a handful of Floo powder in the other, and then they were in Kings Cross Station.

"I've only ever been here to see you off," Sandra told Jonas.

"You can sit with me and Wally and Sarah if you want," he said, but the tentative way he said it made clear he didn't really want her hanging about with his other friends.

"That's alright." Sandra's mouth was halfway between a smile and a grimace. "I'll find somewhere else."

Jonas looked grateful.

They ran through the wall to track 9 ¾ and Sandra felt her heart beating faster. They had made it just in time. Father pushed them onto the train and stood waving goodbye. They waved a bit back and then went separate ways.

But where on earth was she going to sit?

She settled for a car with two other incoming first years, who seemed nice enough.

"Hi!" The brightly red-haired girl said. "I'm Annie! Are you excited or what? I am so very excited. This is Peter, my twin brother."

Peter, who had slightly darker hair, smiled shyly at her. "Hi."

Sandra was a little overwhelmed. "Hi. My name is Sandra. Are…"

Before she could finish, Annie started up a string of comments and questions, which continued until they arrived. Sandra was unable to get a word in edgewise, which was unusual for her because she was also very talkative. It was becoming very annoying. Peter barely said anything, and more than once Sandra was tempted to pretend to go to the bathroom and bail on them. She just hoped she and Annie weren't going to be sorted into the same house.

* * *

The rest of the journey to Hogwarts, Sandra already knew by heart. She had made Jonas and Father tell her over and over again, on rainy nights by the fire in their little living and dining room. She knew about the boats, the lake, the cliff, but the one thing the stories had never captured was just how gigantic and breathtaking the castle really was. It was so beautifully ancient; with its high turrets and cracked stones.

Sandra could hear Annie's nonstop chattering coming from another boat. Annie's boat mates did not look happy.

As it turned out, the inside of the castle was even more awesome than the outside. Sandra noted all of the doors and hallways, trying to memorize the place.

The things that Sandra really loved were the paintings. They were continually moving about, smiling at her, and arguing with each other.

Sandra had quite a bit of experience with magic paintings, because her father was a magical portrait artist. Although he was good, they didn't sell for much, and in truth, Sandra's family was living off the money sent to them by her grandma, who worked as a records keeper for the Ministry of Magic.

Still, the family owned a painting of an old couple eating a large feast of berries in a garden. Their names were Mr. and Mrs. Pennington, and they had gone to Hogwarts back ages ago, during the time of the Harry Potter legacy. They were cheerful companions, but it made the small house feel even smaller.

All of the first-year students were met at the door of the Great Hall by Professor Lameron, the head of Gryffindor, who gave them a welcome speech. Professor Lameron had graying hair and sharp eyes, and her speech was almost word-for-word like the one Jonas had told Sandra about. She described the point system, the three houses, and many things that Sandra, and many of the other students, already knew.

"Are you all ready?" she asked.

The students nodded their heads. The doors to the Great Hall opened.

It was exactly how she'd pictured it: the tall windows, the three long tables – Gryffindor in the middle, Hufflepuff on the far right, and Ravenclaw on the far left – and hundreds of candles floating in midair. As they walked down the rows, Sandra leaned over and gave Jonas a high-five. In front of her was a stool with the famous Sorting Hat on it, and beyond that all the teachers. Sandra tried to identify them from Jonas's descriptions, but she could only figure out who the Herbology teacher was because he had a leaf in his hair.

Everyone was called to attention, and the Sorting Hat started to sing. Jonas had told Sandra that the Sorting Hat always made the songs up.

_He should probably quit being a Sorting Hat and start writing for musical theatre, _she thought.

Then Professor Lameron took out a scroll and began to read off names. A lot of children were sorted into Ravenclaw, including Annie Bemopolis. Peter was sorted into Gryffindor, which surprised Sandra. He seemed like such a quiet, meek child, and wasn't it a little odd to split twins into two different houses?

That was when Sandra noticed the ghosts. There were many of them, but she could tell right away which ones were the house ghosts. Nearly Headless Nick was quite obvious.

"Shingles, Sandra."

Sandra jumped, then collected herself and walked up to the stool and put the strange hat on. She wasn't nervous because she had gone over this in her head so many times.

"Now here's an interesting mind!" said the Hat, and it sounded weird from where Sandra was sitting, directly under it. "Hmmm. Yes. Yes." She took a deep breath, waiting.

Suddenly, so soft that only she could of heard it, the Hat said, "You have the true spirit of Slytherin in you. Alas." _What? _she thought, knowing the Hat could hear her.

"Gryffindor!" The Sorting Hat shouted.

The Gryffindors erupted into applause, and Sandra went to go sit next to Jonas, feeling obliged to smile and doing so.

Still, one thing remained primary in her mind: _What in the world is Slytherin?_

* * *

**How was it guys? Please review! I'd love to hear comments, guesses, praise (this one especially), what you had for breakfast, etc.**

**Ciao for now!**


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